Kevin Lundberg was born in Denver, and now resides in Berthoud. The Colorado of his youth was significantly more conservative than it is today. He grew up steeped in the traditions of his Baptist church and earned a bachelor's from Rockmont College, now Colorado Christian University, while living with his parents. He married right after college and began a family.

Lundberg found a way to blend his traditional values with modern technology and fashioned a career as an independent media production consultant catering to churches and nonprofit groups.

He handles multimedia displays and audio-visual elements for large religious gatherings, and he still contracts with his alma mater, handling special events for the school.

Lundberg didn't become active in politics until the first year he was elected at age 50 to the state House, in 2002.

He and his wife, Sandy, have three grown children.

A rock-solid conservative known for voting against his own party when it strays too far to the center, Kevin Lundberg raised more than eyebrows when he announced he would challenge a Democrat in one of Colorado's most left-leaning districts.

Many guffawed at the thought of Lundberg _ a Christian conservative who quotes Scripture during floor debates and once fought to maintain Colorado's never-enforced crime of adultery _ taking on Democratic Rep. Jared Polis in a district centered around the "People's Republic of Boulder."

However, Lundberg's northern Colorado turf is being combined with Polis' hometown of Boulder for a newly drawn congressional district that isn't as solidly Democratic as it was when Polis was first elected in 2008. And Lundberg's penchant for constitutional literalism has won him a number of surprising allies on the left.

In 2011 and 2012, Lundberg was a vocal critic of Colorado legislation to set a new legal standard for driving under the influence of marijuana, a standard Lundberg argued was scientifically suspect and a threat to constitutional protections for medical marijuana users. His position put him at odds with leaders from both parties, but won him fans among libertarian-leaning constituents along the Wyoming border.

Lundberg defeated a little-known Republican in the June 2012 primary. Eric Weissman, a Boulder businessman, argued that Lundberg's conservatism would leave the party with no chance to unseat Polis, the wealthiest member of the Colorado delegation and a prominent supporter of gay rights and marijuana legalization. Lundberg maintained that his unwavering principles and the new territory of the 2nd Congressional District made him a worthy opponent for Polis. Lundberg won with 53 percent of the vote.

He remains a long shot to defeat Polis. As of early July 2012, Lundberg had raised less than 10 percent of Polis' haul, and Lundberg had just about $13,000 cash on hand.